Rainey and Randalstown in Ulster Carpets Youth Cup success

Saturday's Youth Finals Day at Ravenhill, sponsored by Ulster Carpets, saw Rainey beat Virginia 26-0 in the U13s Cup and Randalstown triumph 14-5 against Carrick in the U15s Cup.

In the first game of the afternoon, Rainey U13s proved too strong for a committed Virginia team and ran out deserved 26-0 winners. They opened the scoring in the 12th minute when a clever offload from Michael O'Neill allowed right wing Mark Reid to crash over. Odhran Lynch added the difficult conversion from the left touchline for a 7-0 lead. The impressive O'Neill then touched down himself for Elliot Young to convert, extending the advantage to 14-0 going into half time.

Virginia started the second period brightly but resolute defence from the Magherfelt side kept them at bay. O'Neill then crashed over for his second try of the day before victory was secured with a fine solo effort from flyhalf Guiseppe Lupari. Lynch added the extras to bring the final score to 26-0.

In the U15 Final, Randalstown secured a 14-5 triumph despite a strong second half fightback from Carrick. They opened the scoring through a combination of good luck and sublime skill. A kick from flyhalf Colm Griffin bounced awkwardly for the Carrick defence and Randalstown outisde centre Conor Poulter pounced to collect the ball one handed and dash in under the posts for a predatory score. Griffin knocked over the simple conversion to give his side a 7-0 lead after 15 minutes.

Carrick had a number of good attacks, with second row Daniel McBurney and inside centre Matthew Dalton achieving significant gainline success, but there was no way through the Randalstown defence and they entered the break trailing 7-0.

Both sides had try scoring opportunities immediately after the break but poor handling undid much good work by the respective packs. Randalstown looked to have blown a chance to extend their lead when they opted to tap and go from a penalty that was within kicking range. But the decision proved correct as they were rewarded for their bravery when Griffin converted his own try to extend the lead to 14-0.

In typical fashion, Carrick responded with aggressive play and following a series of drives close to the line, McBurney forced his way over to cut the arrears to 14-5. There was still time for them to push for another score but the Randalstown defence stood firm and they were good value for their win on the day.